Eden Biodesign and iQur Sign Deal to Develop a Combined Vaccine to Treat Hepatitis A and B

Eden Biodesign Ltd and iQur Ltd have announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop iQur's 'tandem core' vaccine for hepatitis A and B.

Eden Biodesign will develop a bio-manufacturing process to achieve optimal product quality in line with cost of goods parameters before proceeding with clinical trial cGMP manufacture. The project will also involve iQur's collaborators; Arecor Ltd, Mologic Ltd and the University of Leeds.

Research conducted by iQur has suggested that their vaccine platform, based on the HBV core protein, can carry antigens specific for both hepatitis A and B simultaneously. Furthermore, this construct is highly immunogenic and should dramatically increase vaccine efficiency and reduce the current need for booster vaccinations.

The consortium partners add considerable value to the project, with Arecor applying its proprietary protein stabilization technology and Mologic developing novel yeast expression systems. Whilst the market for such a vaccine is undoubtedly large, this will also serve as a proof of concept allowing new combination vaccines to be developed for a number of conditions, including infectious disease and cancers.

Dr Crawford Brown, CEO, Eden Biodesign commented: "We are extremely pleased to combine our expertise in vaccine development and manufacture with iQur's innovative technology and deliver a process that will enable further development of the product. We are excited to be working with iQur's expert team and such a promising technology that has significant medical benefits for the treatment of liver disease".

The part-project is funded by an award from the Technology Strategy Board and match funding from consortia members, designed to support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business.